Chapter 238
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 238
Chapter Title: Closure of Olympus
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A short while ago, after spending a passionate night with Atalanta and cooling down my body...
A call from Athena arrived at just the perfect timing.
Could that thick-headed goddess have picked up some random spell of mine from who-knows-where and done something stupid with it?
Every wild thought raced through my mind, but with a sigh, I had no choice but to follow where the bracelet led me.
For now, I was still only a demigod. A pilgrim just barely stepping into the realm of divinity.
The goddess summoning me was one who had already reached that pinnacle—or been born into it.
Even if I matched her at the extreme opposite of her divinity with my own demonic essence, pitting myself against Zeus's eldest daughter—who was said to be even stronger than Poseidon—wasn't a smart move.
'Well, at least she didn't barge into the bedroom out of nowhere. That's pretty reasonable on her part.'
The tales of the gods' private lives from Chiron's theology lessons had been downright horrifying.
Golden rain, winds, plain teleportation, sunlight, moonlight, and so on...
'Hold on? Moonlight?'
Goddess. Summons. Moonlight. Duty. Hot night...
'Oh man. Buddha help me.'
Suddenly, a certain face from light-years away flashed in my mind—a goddess, true to form, irritable yet breathtakingly beautiful.
I'd gone all out playing the Mara role, even carving a seal on her yin gate, and then casually commanded her to come at every full moon like some show-off... only to completely forget about it.
'What the hell... it's not like she's a damn hooker.'
No matter how pathetic she'd become or how she was essentially prey in my grasp, she was still one of Olympus's Twelve Olympians.
That's why I couldn't kill her, nor could I just let her go, leaving her bound to silence herself.
Truth be told, if I hadn't felt ecstasy watching that proud, fierce woman crumble under my hands, I'd be impotent.
Would surrendering to carnal lust after thousands of years of awakening come first? Or would my patience—controlling desire and greed for even greater thrills—run out first?
Either way, my victory and Artemis's defeat were all but assured.
But that was that.
Teasing a virgin goddess's pure white soul until it burned with desperation, only to unintentionally neglect her like this...
Not that I should be the one saying it after pulling this stunt, but it felt pretty damn apologetic.
"What are you thinking so deeply about?"
"!?"
I jumped at the sudden, silky voice popping up out of nowhere and whipped my head around.
"H-Hermes?"
"Yup~ Long time no see~"
A playful smile, curly golden hair.
A beautiful boy whose impression made anyone let their guard down and feel at ease.
The gods' messenger, Hermes, was hanging upside down in midair, grinning at me.
"...How'd you get here?"
What was odd was that I'd clearly come at Athena's call, yet Athena herself was nowhere in sight—only Hermes lounging about with that cheeky smile.
I was currently her chief magistrate. Whether it was to bestow a reward or give orders, Athena didn't strike me as the type to send a messenger for something like this...
"I get it~ You came skipping out all excited to see a pretty goddess, but no goddess in sight—just this handsome Hermes instead. No wonder you're surprised."
Nodding to himself as if he'd nailed it, Hermes flashed another mischievous grin and handed me two scrolls.
"I have tons to chat about~ But first, shall we get to the divine duties of this gods' messenger, Hermes?"
With those words and a bright smile, Hermes handed over the two scrolls.
Stamped boldly in the center of each were symbols: a wise owl and a peacock with feathers fanned out in splendor.
They were from the goddess of war who summoned me, Athena, and from Hera, who was my mentor and junior sister among the gods.
"Truth is, the mood on Olympus is pretty tense right now. Not sure if you know why, but Father Zeus went on a rare outing and came back declaring a full lockdown on all of Olympus."
"A lockdown?"
Suddenly?
Hermes let out a deep sigh, as if sharing my bewilderment, then seemed to decide that since things had come to this, he might as well spill everything. He plopped down properly and began explaining the situation.
"Yeah. Pretty much all mid- and low-tier gods staying on Olympus can't leave without permission. Even us Twelve can't either, unless it's absolutely essential divine business. We're ordered to stay put on Olympus or in our own domains."
Even as Zeus's command, this stirred up no small backlash.
Athena had been eagerly debating strategy and tactics with me, Ares was thrilled at the twins he'd been eyeing getting brutally disbanded, and Cronus's bloodline—Hera and Poseidon—raged that no matter how much they'd crowned him king, this tyranny was unacceptable.
"Of course, as the gods' messenger and with Iris on rainbows, we were exempt from the lockdown. But now we're swamped running errands for the higher gods..."
Unlike last time when he'd joined Chiron and me looking fresh, Hermes's face now carried a hint of fatigue.
I wondered how he could look this worn with divine nectar and ambrosia around.
But the lingering aura in his breath and fingertips told me even godly food couldn't mask how exhausted he was.
"How serious is it?"
"Don't ask. Lord Poseidon went berserk, yelling if some punk like me dared raise his voice like the other brats. And Hera... ugh, just ugh..."
Hermes shuddered as if the mere thought chilled him.
Seeing his face, I could easily imagine the atmosphere on Olympus right now.
'What's going on...?'
Even racking my brains, I couldn't recall any incident that would make Zeus act so drastically.
Was it just not memorable? Or had some new variable flipped everything upside down...?
'What did that sly king of the gods see?'
Flashing through my mind was that sharp gaze, hidden to the end beneath a beast's hide as it probed me.
He laughed boldly, heartily, embracing all with open arms, radiating pride and heroic spirit—but beneath it slumbered the cold rationality of a king weighing all creation.
The Zeus I'd seen wasn't the type to suddenly accelerate like this, overheating everything. Nor was he a tyrant who'd risk it just to test his influence.
If he were that straightforward brute, our chat in snake and eagle forms last time wouldn't have dragged on so long.
So, the conclusion was one of two.
Either something forced him to heat things up for internal control.
Or he was sparking this to gain something.
'I need more intel.'
Especially since, if I were Zeus, I'd have plenty of skeletons that could bite me. A lightning bolt crashing down would be a real headache.
"Any chance you know the reason? Oh swiftest of gods?"
"Hmm... the reason? Officially, it's because gods mingling too much with humans lately has tarnished Olympus's dignity, so self-restraint and all that..."
I shook my head at the absurdity, matching Hermes's incredulous look.
The one tarnishing Olympus's dignity most was him—the king of the gods himself.
"Honestly, even as his son..."
"...We bow to that vigorous grace."
Our shared lament, laden with meaning, drew bitter smiles from us both as we settled facing each other.
"That outing... Any idea, Hermes?"
"Ah, I don't tail Father Zeus to see where he goes or comes from.
Unless it's Hera's orders or equivalent from Cronus's kin."
Back in the day, Hermes used to follow Zeus everywhere, gossiping and having fun, until Zeus gave him a harsh scolding once.
Ever since, just seeing Zeus's back triggered the trauma, so unless it looked really fun, he didn't bother tailing him anymore.
"Too bad..."
"Even if I knew, I couldn't just blab it easily."
He was right.
No matter how chatty Hermes was, leaking the king of gods'—his own father's—movements to an outsider could be seen as treason.
As we pooled our heads pondering why this happened, Hermes suddenly jerked his head up and sprang to his feet.
"Hm? Uh? Ahh! I get it now!"
"W-What's up?"
The messenger god shot up like he'd had a seizure.
As I stared in surprise, his curls bobbed sheepishly.
"Message from Zephyrus. Says the shrine's already piled high with deliveries... gotta go quick."
"Hahaha..."
"See ya! Stay safe till next time!"
True to his entrance, Hermes vanished just as mysteriously.
No time to savor the god's whimsy—I swiftly sealed the surroundings with barriers and wards, then unrolled the scrolls in hand.